News (1582)
Like many other African countries, Ghana wants to leverage technology to improve its economy. Since 2017, the current government has identified many sectors where digital tools will transform government efficiency.
Starting next year, Ghana will automate revenue collection at major tourist sites, Tourism Minister, Dr. Ibrahim Mohammed Awal (pictured), revealed at the Editor’s Forum held in Accra in mid-August. The transition marks a shift from a fully manual collection to a cashless system that is expected to enhance revenue generation and investment in the sector.
According to Dr. Awal, tourist attractions rely heavily on manual revenue collection but this will soon change with the cashless systems being first implemented at the newly renovated Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Park, before being “replicated nationwide at other attractions.”
By introducing automated revenue collection systems in its tourism sector, Ghana wants to capitalize on the experience of countries like Kenya and Tanzania that have achieved notable success in that segment. For instance, in Tanzania, the digital payment approach has helped curb embezzlement and streamline revenue collection.
If successful, the modern approach may get Ghana closer to its ambition to generate $5 billion from the tourism sector by 2025. In 2022, the sector generated $2 billion. This year, the country eyes $3.4 billion in revenue.
By 2025, it hopes to attract two million visitors yearly. To do so, it bets on private-sector partnerships and various initiatives including the modernization of cultural sites like the Dubois Centre and Osu Castle, along with positioning Ghana as a hub for Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Events (MICE) in the sub-region.
Hikmatu Bilali
Although they remain focused on only a few countries, Africa continues to attract investors from around the world. This is mostly thanks to the good impetus of the youth-driven tech industry in sectors such as agriculture and education.
The LA-based VC firm Black Ostrich Ventures announced the launch of a $20-million seed capital dedicated to African businesses that operate in areas such as clean technologies, supply chains, agritech and edtech.
This vehicle, backed by New York investors and wealthy Los Angeles individuals, targets start-ups in Tanzania, Zambia, Morocco and Uganda. Ajani Windsor-Areago, the General Partner of Black Ostrich Ventures, explained that “If you look at the capital inflows into VC in Africa, the Big Four countries—Nigeria, South Africa, Egypt, and Kenya—attract all the capital. But most exits do not happen in these markets". Selected startups will receive between $50,000 and $200,000 to develop their business, with the possibility of a follow-up investment of up to $1 million if the startup reaches Series A.
Focusing outside the big four is the way for Black Ostrich Ventures and its partners to help markets that generally receive little of the tech investment inflows in Africa. Let’s note that a report issued last July 11th by the research firm Magnitt revealed that Nigeria, South Africa, Egypt, and Kenya captured 94.5% of total financing raised by African tech startups in the first half of 2023.
Samira Njoya
The Dubai-based company said the investment will help bolster payment systems infrastructure and financial inclusion and contribute to the digital transformation undertaken by the Egyptian government.
Network International, a major player in digital commerce in the Middle East and Africa (MEA) region announced on Monday, August 28 an investment of EGP 1 billion ($32.3 million) to support Egypt's economic growth through innovative payment solutions.
According to the company's press release, a"significant portion" of the capital will be spent to buy, deploy, and maintain around 100,000 point-of-sale (POS) machines in several regions of Egypt. The rest will be devoted to the implementation and smooth operation of Network One, the company's state-of-the-art payments technology platform.
"This investment underscores our ongoing commitment to providing innovative payment solutions to Egyptian businesses. Our presence in the Egyptian economy spans more than two decades, during which we have served numerous banks and financial institutions," said Nandan Mer, CEO of Network International.
Network International's new investment in Egypt aligns with its government’s efforts to implement the country's national digital transformation strategy called "Digital Egypt 2030". The latter aims to "realize the digital economy through ICT, to ensure prosperity, freedom, and social equity for all".
Network International's presence in Egypt will significantly contribute to financial inclusion and GDP growth. The player strives to modernize financial technology to facilitate the transition from cash to digital payments.
Samira Njoya
Like Equatorial Guinea and Cameroon, who did it this year, Burkina Faso has digitized its visa.
Burkina Faso recently adopted the e-visa. The dedicated platform was launched on August 17, in Ouagadougou, the capital, by the Deputy Minister for Security, Mahamadou Sana.
Sana believes that the e-visa is a response to transnational crime and that it will help boost internal security by controlling migratory flows, and optimize the collection and management of government revenues.
The new e-visa platform, according to Aminata Zerbo-Sabané, Minister of Digital Transition, Post and Electronic Communications is a huge step in the ongoing digitization of the country’s public services. The platform is backed by the Burkina Faso Visa Security Project (PSV-BF).
"This platform is part of the government's drive to put digital technology at the heart of the overhaul of our administration," Zerbo-Sabané declared.
Travelers looking to secure a visa can simply do so by accessing the website www.visaburkina.bf using their email. Once connected, they will have to fill out a form, upload the necessary information and pay online, via a bank card.
The e-visa’s price varies depending on the number of days a visitor plans to stay in the country. It ranges from €51 for a 3-month single-entry tourist visa to €160 for a single-entry express visa.
Samira Njoya
We are in the digital economy era, and the impact of tech entrepreneurship on wealth and job creation keeps growing in Africa. However, African innovators still face many challenges, and encouraging local talent and promoting access to certain resources is becoming more and more urgent.
The Tanzania Communications Regulatory Authority (TCRA) and the Tanzania Commission for Science and Technology (COSTECH) recently signed a partnership agreement to provide free communications resources to emerging ICT companies. The move aims to foster an environment that is conducive to digital innovation and allows these companies to thrive.
"The collaborative effort aims to nurture the country's thriving digital innovation landscape, ensuring that start-ups have the tools they need to thrive and contribute positively to society through their technological advances," said TCRA CEO Dr Jabiri Bakari (pictured, right).
"The distribution of these resources makes it possible to offer high-speed Internet services, an important factor in the digital economy," he added.
Two months ago, the TCRA allocated resources to four innovative startups to enable them to submit their ideas to COSTECH for further development. The move also contributes to the Tanzanian government's ambition to provide 80% of the population access to high-speed Internet by 2025, consequently fostering innovation in areas such as entrepreneurship, agriculture, and transport.
Support from TCRA and COSTECH will enable Tanzanian startups to communicate their projects free of charge. Among other things, TCRA provides numbering resources, frequency spectrum, zip codes, residential addresses and mobile money services.
Samira Njoya
The most populous country in Africa does not want to be left behind when it comes to new tech tools. The federal government is striving to leverage assets such as its youth to become a leader in AI.
Early this week, the Minister of Digital Economy, Bosun Tijani (pictured), made a post on X calling on all top researchers from the continent and abroad to help make this ambition a reality. The goal is to build an AI-powered development strategy. “We are curating a list of the top researchers of Nigerian descent from all over the world to join us in co-creating a National AI Strategy. The strategy will help shape our approach to building innovative tech solutions to our most pressing national problems,” the authority said.
AI has become, according to the FG, a multipurpose technology that transforms production and service delivery and has the potential to significantly stimulate economic growth and social development. Nigeria believes that by 2030, this technology could contribute up to $15.7 trillion to the global economy with $3 trillion coming from increased productivity and $9.1 trillion from new products and services.
With its national AI strategy, the country hopes to position itself as a leader on the continent in the next few years and tap into the benefits of this segment. Better still, Nigeria wants to give its tech environment a new face and unleash more effective and impactful tech innovations.
Samira Njoya
The digital revolution emerges as a potent catalyst for development and progress worldwide. Nevertheless, it also unveils vulnerabilities that may present obstacles to advancement.
Last week, the cybercriminal group Snatch claimed a cyberattack on the South African Department of Defence (DoD). The group was said to have acquired 1.6 terabytes of sensitive data including military contracts, internal call signs, and personal data including President Cyril Ramaphosa's contact number.
The declaration was qualified as "fake news" by South African National Defence Force (SANDF) spokesperson Brigadier General Andries Mahapa, on Friday 25 August. It has however raised concerns about national security and the country's digital infrastructure.
While the presidency hasn't commented on the matter, some cybersecurity experts have stressed again the need to strengthen cybersecurity protocols to protect the digital transformation of the country. This breach highlights the growing threat of cyberattacks on critical government institutions, emphasizing the importance of robust cybersecurity practices.
In its "Global Cybersecurity Outlook 2022" report, the World Economic Forum (WEF) estimates that Ransomware attacks will be the main threat to the digital systems of organizations and administrations.
The report also points out that "Ransomware attacks saw a significant increase in the first six months of 2021, with global attack volume increasing by 151%. The United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has warned that there are now 100 different strains of ransomware in circulation globally. It is unlikely that this issue will diminish in pace or severity any time soon."
Hikmatu Bilali
Zanzibar started its digital transformation journey a few months ago. All sectors are undergoing the process; this includes payment systems, which play a crucial role in digital inclusion.
MasterCard recently committed to supporting the digital transformation ambitions of the government of Zanzibar, an autonomous administrative region of Tanzania. Last Tuesday, the the US company inked a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Zanzibar e-Government Agency (eGAZ), in this framework.
Under their partnership, MasterCard will provide technical support and its expertise to Zanzibar, over three years. According to the payment giant, this includes setting up a digital transformation team, collaborating with the ZanMalipo government payment portal to enable digital payments, and launching two million government cards for better access to services and tourism.
“This collaboration confirms our commitment to leveraging innovative technologies to improve service delivery. We believe that by working with MasterCard, a trusted partner, we can significantly accelerate the realization of our digital strategy and provide invaluable benefits to our citizens,” said Said Seif Said, Director General of eGAZ.
The agreement, signed during the launch of Zanzibar’s digital government strategy (2023-2027), aligns perfectly with the island's digital transformation objectives outlined in its master plan and digital economy roadmap.
The collaboration builds on MasterCard’s global experience in promoting digital transformation and facilitating financial and digital inclusion. It will, ultimately, foster an environment conducive to a pan-African digital economy, and stimulate innovation, trade, and investment in the United Republic of Tanzania and the region as a whole.
Samira Njoya
After much debate about the TikTok application, the Kenyan government has finally made up its mind. Unlike other African countries, the video-sharing app will not be suspended in the country.
TikTok recently committed to collaborating with Kenyan authorities to better control its content in the country. Kenyan President William Ruto made the announcement last Thursday, August 24, after a virtual meeting with TikTok CEO, Shou Zi Chew, who also agreed to open an office in Kenya to coordinate its operations in the region.
Kenya will work with the short-form video hosting service TikTok in reviewing and monitoring its content to ensure that it adheres to the agreed community guidelines and standards. It is our commitment that we bring up our children in the right environment.
— William Samoei Ruto, PhD (@WilliamsRuto) August 24, 2023
During a virtual… pic.twitter.com/ua1X8oL1sG
“Kenya will now work with the short video hosting service TikTok to review and monitor its content to ensure it adheres to the agreed community guidelines and standards. This new development means that inappropriate or offensive content will be removed from the platform,” said Ruto.
Barely 10 days before the announcement, Kenyan lawmakers received a petition from Bob Ndolo, a Kenyan businessman, highlighting the sharing of inappropriate content on TikTok and the collection of user data by its Chinese company. The parliament had decided to investigate the platform’s usage in Kenya and said it would decide in the following two months.
Earlier last week, Kenya’s neighbor Somalia banned TikTok, Telegram, and 1XBet, a betting platform. In a statement released on August 29, Somalia’s government blamed the platform of spreading misinformation and content that is harmful to national interests.
TikTok, which has more than one billion active users worldwide, is also suspended in Senegal, with authorities claiming that the platform is used to spread hateful and subversive messages that threaten the country's stability.
Samira Njoya
As part of efforts to develop its digital economy, Zambia has been partnering with various States that share its ambition.
Zambia and Malawi recently teamed up to reduce the costs of broadband connectivity in both countries. The two sides inked last week two major agreements in this framework. The first was between Malawi’s Ministry of Information and Digitization and Zambia’s Ministry of Technology and Sciences. The second was between the Malawi Electricity Supply Corporation (Escom) and Fibercom, a Zambian ISP.
Escom Malawi and Fibercom will, via their optical fiber cables, establish a diplomatic data corridor as part of their deal. This corridor will create an internet pathway through Zambia.
“The agreement on the diplomatic data corridor signed today lays the foundation for such connectivity to meet the communication needs of current and future generations. Escom, as the implementing agency on behalf of the Malawi government, is committed and ready to provide available, reliable, and affordable digital services,” said Escom CEO Kamkwanda Kumwenda.
The two agreements were signed in Lilongwe, Malawi. For Malawi, they will contribute to its ambition to achieve full digitization by 2063, and for Zambia, they are a major milestone towards its goals for accelerating ICT and Telecoms development by 2030.
Also, the partnership will help lower the cost of data, thus boosting access to Internet and consequently stimulating the partnering economies.
According to recent data from the Zambian Information and Communications Technology Authority (ZICTA), Zambia has 20.2 million mobile phone users, and 10.4 million internet users. As for Malawi, it had 5.04 million internet users at the beginning of this year, according to DataReportal. By 2026, the country seeks to have 80% of its population have access to the internet, against only 14% now. It also seeks to raise the mobile penetration rate from 51% to 80% over the same period.
Samira Njoya
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Service digitization is one the priorities of the Kenyan government. Several projects are underway in the country to provide the necessary framework for the delivery of digital services.
The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and the Kenyan government recently signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to roll out a digital identity system in the country.
Signed in Nairobi, the deal provides for UNDP technical assistance and collaboration with the government to mobilize resources to support the development and implementation of a new Unique Personal Identifier (UPI), the Maisha Namba. The country will anchor digital identification to this UPI.
"Together, we will build on our current registration and identity management practices in a way that doesn't reinvent, but rather identifies and corrects gaps in our current systems and leverages digital solutions, including mobile and web applications, to move to better systems," said Julius Bitok (pictured, left), Principal Secretary of Immigration and Citizen Services.
The two sides inked the agreement as part of a nationwide digital identification program that the Kenyan government kickstarted. Under this larger program, each Kenyan citizen will get a UPI at birth. The Maisha Namba will replace the Huduma Namba, a system launched in 2019 by the Kenyatta government but highly criticized by the population.
Maisha Namba and Digital ID will officially come online on October 2, 2023. Other products like the Maisha Card, which will replace the current ID card, will follow, and a National Master Population Register will be established.
According to Julius Bitok, the digital ID system will safely, and reliably, enable Kenyans to check their identity for various purposes, ranging from opening bank acccriticizedo accessing government services or traveling. This will also reduce fraud and corruption.
Samira Njoya
The 21-year-old entrepreneur seeks to make a positive impact on her community by solving problems she relates to, through tech. She has great ambitions for the future.
Hawanatu Sesay (picture) is an aspiring entrepreneur and programmer from Sierra Leone. She is the founder of the Sierra Learning Complaint website. The tool enables students to anonymously voice their educational concerns. Through this website, she ensures students’ complaints reach the relevant authorities.
Passionate about positive change, Hawanatu created Sierra Learning Complaint after a computer programming training at Orange Fablab (in 2022). “Orange has provided knowledge and career development programs. They have helped me to identify my hidden potential,” Hawanatu says. This experience has given her the ability to act more effectively by using the current tools that young people like her love.
Apart from her work with the complaint site, Hawanatu who has also developed an interest in other technologies is actively working on an Internet of Things (IoT) project. The project aims to revolutionize agriculture by monitoring soil conditions, providing valuable insights to farmers, and helping troubleshoot any growth issues affecting their crops. Through the project, she aims to contribute to food security and sustainable farming in her community.
Before her entrepreneurial pursuits, Hawanatu engaged in volunteer work with a patriotic advocacy organization (2018-2021) during her school years. More recently (2021), she joined "Digital Islam," an organization providing charity to the less fortunate, and she is still an active volunteer.
Hawanatu Sesay exemplifies a young visionary determined to make a positive impact in her community. With her innovative mindset and commitment to using technology for social good, she is poised to become a significant figure in the tech and social entrepreneurship spheres. As she awaits college admission, she continues to pursue her passions and create positive change through her work.
Hikmatu Bilali
In a context of cross-border criminality encompassing terrorism and more, the Nigerian authorities wish to better control entry and exit from the country. ICT emerges as a potential solution to this concern.
Minister of Interior Hon. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo (picture), on August 22, introduced a plan to deploy advanced technology for securing Nigeria's borders.
The plan, revealed during a news conference, aims to leverage technology to fortify land, air, and sea borders, helping address escalating threats. "We must protect all borders - land, air, sea," said Hon. Tunji-Ojo, stressing technology's role as a complement to current security efforts.
The initiative aligns with President Bola Tinubu's reform call, aiming to instill hope via the Interior Ministry's efforts.
To complement this move, the ministry would also focus on optimizing the visa and passport system, minimizing delays, and enhancing transparency. The minister also pledged respectful treatment at passport offices, with foreign entry based on merit.
The move underscores the government's commitment to a safer, more secure Nigeria through technology and strategic reforms.
Hikmatu Bilali
In Africa, thousands of ghost civil servants still benefit from governments’ outdated management systems. To tackle the issue, some countries on the continent have turned to new technologies.
Guinea launched last week, August 16, a biometric enrolment campaign targeting officials and contract civil servants.
The campaign was launched by the Minister of Labor and Public Works, Julien Yombouno. Set to last 44 days, it started from the Ministry of Labor and will extend to other ministries over the period. Over 87,000 civil servants are expected to be enrolled.
“The main goal is to determine the real headcount of the civil service. With the accurate figures, we will be able to calculate exactly how much the State pays its civil servants every month. The end goal, however, is to establish a single administrative and accounting registry,” Yombouno explained.
According to the Minister, the single biometric registry will regroup the data of all Guinean civil servants and contract employees, thus guaranteeing "a single agent, a single registration number, and a single salary".
The government picked Digitalis, a local startup, to carry out the project. The company develops biometric applications and software.
Enrolled civil servants will get a receipt after registering. They will later exchange the receipt for their professional card.
Like Guinea, several African countries have recently turned to technology to flush out ghost workers and put an end to the payment of undue wages. The aim is to clean up the civil service and remove the ghost workers who cost African countries tens of billions of CFA francs every year.
Samira Njoya